The International Top 30 Report

Emerging markets emerge

07.30.07

Where’s the Growth? It’s No Wonder!

Stonehenge didn’t make it, neither did The Eiffel Tower. The Statue of Liberty? Not even close. Nope, when the citizens of the world were asked to pick the new Seven Wonders of the World last month, six of them came from places that business folks would consider to be emerging markets. You know, like the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall of China and Machu Picchu in Peru—the only exception was the Colosseum in Rome. Yup, about 100 million people around the world logged on and cast their votes, and the U.S., western Europe and Japan came up losers. What does Petra in Jordan or Chichén Itzá in Mexico have to do with Unilever’s global expansion plans? The contest results underscores what savvy household and personal care company executives have known for years. Now, more than ever, consumers in places like China and India are deciding who the winners and losers will be. Long-term growth depends on consumers in emerging markets.

Nowhere is this mindset more evident than in The International Top 30, our annual look at the leading companies in the household and personal care industry with corporate headquarters outside the U.S. Nearly every company on our list is making headway in major markets such as China, Brazil and Russia. At the same time, many of these market leaders note that sales are slowing in more mature European and U.S. markets. To learn more about their successes and a few failures too, read The International Top 30. Once again, Unilever tops our list, but L’Oréal is inching closer to the top spot. Kao made a big jump to the No. 3 spot following its acquisition of Kanebo. Of course, sales aren’t the only concern for companies in The International Top 30. More and more of them are highlighting their efforts to reduce environmental impact.

Keep in mind that we rank companies based on sales of household and personal products. At the same time, remember that all companies were ranked based on figures converted to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate for that company’s fiscal year.

We hope you enjoy this edition of The International Top 30. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.

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